There have been some names thrown out there of players – such as Jared Gaither and Leon Washington – that the 49ers might be pursuing in free agency. But if the player is a restricted free agent, it just doesn’t make sense for the 49ers to go strong after a player.

It’s “business as usual” for 49ers quarterback Shaun Hill, who plans to return to the Bay Area on Sunday to take part in the opening of the team’s offseason conditioning program, said Bob Lattinville, his agent.

No player on the 49ers’ roster was more responsible for the team’s second-half 2008 surge that resulted in the “interim” title removed from Mike Singletary’s job description. Shaun Hill helped steady the 49ers after Singletary would not tolerate J.T. O’Sullivan’s stream of turnovers. Hill rode that momentum to the starting job at the beginning of last season. But the 49ers always thought they could do better than Hill….

Free-agent quarterback David Carr had dinner last night with 49ers coach Mike Singletary and is spending time again this morning with coaches and club officials in Santa Clara, a league source. The 49ers have the first opportunity to sign Carr, but three other teams remain interested in his services, according to the source.

Teams that enter the unrestricted free-agent market at the opening bell know they’re going to have to overspend. That opening bell sounds at 9 p.m. (PT). The 49ers have done so on several occasions, beginning in 2005, as they took dramatic measures to attempt to upgrade a roster left depleted by some poor drafts and a salary-cap purge. I’m not editorializing that the 49ers overspent, they’ll freely admit…

Teams can retain the rights to players with fewer than three years of NFL experience (and whose contracts have expired) through the simple process of extending a qualifying offer to these exclusive-rights free agents.

In a move the 49ers have planned since November, the club today officially announced it has assigned the non-exclusive franchise tag to nose tackle Aubrayo Franklin, who was scheduled for unrestricted free agency. The 49ers have, in essence, taken Franklin off the free-agent market with a one-year, $7.003 million tender – or the average of the top-five salaries at the position. “Aubrayo has proven to be a valuable contributor…

The 49ers seemingly did nothing in the 2009 offseason to improve their pass rush. At least, they did not add anyone through the draft or free agency to make much of an impact. But the 49ers’ pass rush was, in fact, significantly improved. The 49ers did not change their personnel, but defensive coordinator Greg Manusky focused on the pass rush in the offseason program. The 49ers recorded 44 sacks,…

Veteran cornerback Brian Kelly, whom the Lions cut in December, is scheduled to visit the 49ers and take a physical later today, a league source said. Dre’ Bly is also scheduled to arrive in Santa Clara today.

Inside the 49ers: Grant Cohn

I cover the San Francisco 49ers year-round for The Press Democrat in Santa Rosa. Argue with me, agree with me, or just read the posts and follow the conversation. I've been a contributor to several other regional and national sports websites, and I also write two online columns a week for pressdemocrat.com, which are posted on this site as well.